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REPORT 


ON    THE 


STREET  CLEANING  PROBLEM 
IN  SAN  FRANCISCO 


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34 


CONTENTS. 

Introductory: 

Su^m-si.ed  Form  of  Cost  Reports  for  Street  Cleaning  and  Sprinkling'.  .Page 

Prefatory    

Letter     of    Transminal     

aning  and   Sprinkling  by   Contract   in    1901— 1902 

Street    Clrauinn    in    (ieneval. 

Foreword    

Origin   and  Character  of    Dirt 

\\"hat    is    Prevent  a  Me 

Harm    done    

Responsibility    of    Public '  ° 

The   Problem    • "         1  " 

Methods:        Hand     Patrol 11 

Sweeping    Machines:       Broom '         11 

"Pick-up"    Machines    

Kindling   Machines    1  - 

Ptetnarks     

Flushing-     

Hose     

Fl  ushers     ' 

Disposal      -' 

Sn-cet    Sprinkling    ' 

Street  ('leaning  in   San   Francisco. 

Hoard   of    Works " 

Bureau    of    Streets 

Staff  of   Street  Cleaning    Depart  men  i 

Raie  of   Wages " 

Local    Conditions       

Dry    Season     

Amount   of  Paved   Streets  Cleaned 

How    Cleaned 

Streets  in  Bad  Order " 

Topography 

Disposal    of    Sweepings 

Dumping  at.  Sea 

Bunkers     

Districts     '• 

Schedule    Maintained    by    Department " 

Schedule  Too  Ambitious 

Sprinkling  Schedule    

Schedule  Should  Be  Changed '• 


337165 


The  Chloride  Process .  .  . '. Page  20 

Criticism     '  21 

Discipline  and  Reforms    •  • 

Market   Street '  --' 

Produce   District    "  22 

Montgomery   Avenue    

Kearny    Street      "  22 

Dupont    "  22 

South   of   Market "  22 

Kentucky     

The    Mission    "  23 

Nob    Hill    "  23 

Van  Ness    "  23 

Western  Addition    "  24 

Sunset  and  Richmond "  24 

Remarks     '  •  2  ~> 

Schedule  Proposed    "  25 

Reorganization  of  Department "  2". 

Reduction  of  Wages "  '27-, 

Superintendent's   Report    "  2(1 

Proposed  Form  of  Report "  20 

Present  Cost  of  Street  Cleaning "  2<; 

Hand   Work "  2G 

Machine   Sweeping    "  27 

Flushing     ••  27 

Sprinkling    ••  27 

Cost  of  Hauling "  27 

Summary  and   Recommendations.  .  "  2S-''9 


THE  MERCHANTS'  ASSOCIATION  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO 

1909 
Officers 


1st  Vice-President 
C.  K.  Mclntosh 

Treasurer 
Byron  Mauzy 


President 
Andrew  M.  Davis 


Secretary 
L.  M.  King 

Directors 


2nd  Vice-President 
R.  H.  Swayne 

Attorneys 
Wright  &  Wright 


R.  S.  Atkins Robert  S.  Atkins 

Eugene  J.  Bates Hulse,  Bradford  &  Co. 

George   C.    Boardman,   Jr Boardman   Bros.    &    Co. 

Gustave  Brenner Gore  Investment  Co. 

Andrew  M.  Davis The  Emporium 

W.  D.  Fennimore California  Optical  Co. 

Hartland  Law The  Viavi  Co. 

Byron  Mauzy Byron  Mauzy  Piano  Co. 

C.  K.  Mclntosh San  Francisco  National  Bank 

H.  W.  Postlethwaite The  Holmes  Lime  Co. 

M.  H.  Robbins,  Jr Otis  Elevator  Co. 

A.  W.  Scott,  Jr Scott  &  Magner 

R.  H.  Swayne Swayne,  Hoyt  &  Co. 

I .  O.   Upham Isaac  Upham  Co. 

Committee  on  Street  Improvement 

A.  W.  Scott,  Jr.,  Chairman 
C.  J.  Wood  H.  H.  Allen 


PREFATORY 


Some  time  ago  the  Merchants'  Association  began  a  general  study 
of  the  street  cleaning  and  sprinkling  conditions  in  San  Francisco  and 
the  methods  by  which  such  work  is  being  performed.  This  was  not 
done  for  the  purpose  of  criticising  the  present  Board  of  I'ublic  Works 
or  the  Street  Cleaning  Department,  for  some  streets  are  well  cleaned 
and  the  others  are  in  a  fair  condition,  but  it  was  felt  that  more  and 
better  results  ought  to  be  secured  with  the  amount  of  money  spent 
even  ".hough  the  appropriation  is  not  as  much  as  it  should  be  to  secure 
thoroughly  clean  streets  over  the  whole  city  of  San  Francisco. 

The  Association  from  its  own  experience  knows  that  the  best  of 
intentions  will  not  secure  thoroughly  clean,  well-sprinkled  streets 
unless  the  work  is  very  systematically  handled.  It  was,  therefore, 
decided  to  make  a  general  study  of  the  whole  street  cleaning  situation 
in  order  that  it  might  be  determined  what  improvements  or  changes 
could  be  made  that  would  enable  the  Board  of  Public  Works  to  secure 
more  and  better  results  with  the  appropriation  available. 

The  Report  of  the  Association's  Engineer,  who  made  the  inves- 
tigation, is  given  herewith  in  full  in  the  hope  that  it  will  be  carefully 
studied  and  that  there  will  be  a  more  thorough  understanding  by  the 
public  and  the  City  Officials  of  the  difficulties  of  this  work  and  the 
conditions  that  must  be  overcome  in  order  to  produce  clean  streets: 
and  in  the  further  hope  that,  as  a  result,  the  necessarv  changes  in  the 
system  and  details  of  the  work  will  be  made,  and  that  there  will  be 
a  more  hearty  co-operation  between  the  public  and  the  City  Officials 
not  only  in  cleaning  the  streets,  but  iu  keeping  them  clean  after  thev 
are  swept. 

Maps  referred  to  in  this  report  have  not  been  published  but  are 
on  file  in  the  office  of  the  Merchants'  Association. 


LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL. 


San   Francisco.  L'al..  July  23,    1909. 
"To  the  Committee  on  Street   Improvement, 

Merchants'   Association  of  San   Francisco. 
(  jentleinen  : 

In  accordance  with  instructions  from  your  Committee,  I  made 
an  examination  of  the  manner  and  extent  of  street  cleaning  as  per- 
formed by  the  local  department  of  Street  Cleaning'. 

This  inspection  was  carried  on;  with  many  interruptions,  from 
April  to  July. 

The  members  of  the  Hoard  of  Works  and  Mr.  Wm.  (VShaugh- 
nessy,  Superintendent  of  Street  ('leaning  Department,  rendered  very 
material  assistance  that  was  greatly  appreciated.  Further  assistance 
was  given  by  Mr.  L.  M.  King.  Secretary  of  the  Association,  whose 
former  experience  in  this  work  made  his  advice  particularly  valuable. 

The  following'  report  gives  a  brief  outline  of  street  cleaning 
methods  in  general  and  as  carried  on  here,  and  concludes  with  recom- 
mendations for  certain  changes  in  methods  and  organization  of  the 
1  )epartment. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

II.  A.  CAMPBELL, 

Engineer.  The  Merchants'  Association. 


STREET  CLEANING  BY  CONTRACT,  1901-1902. 


Cost  of  Street  Cleaning  and  Sprinkling  as  Done  by  Contract  in  1OO1JOO2. 
Submitted  for  Comparison  as  to  Extent  and  Costa  of  Work  Performed 
Then  by  Contract  and  at  Present  Date.  Wages  of  Sweepers  $2.OO 
per  day. 


DISTRICTS  NOS.  i  AND  4— First  Class. 
IJlock   Work. 

No.  square  yards  swept 65,642,257 

Total  cost   of  sweeping  and  hauling $40,231.08 

Cost   per  10OO  sq.  yds.  in  District  No.  1 .75 

Note. — Cost  per  1000  sq.  yds.  in  District  No.  4  was  in- 
cluded in  the  price  bid  per  1OOO  sq.  yds.  (35c.)  for 
ordinary  sweeping. 

Second    to    Seventh    Class. 
Hand    Labor   Gangs   and   Machines. 

No.  square  yards  swept   (not  including  Special  (Yew  work) 132,044,022 

Total  cost  of  sweeping  and  hauling $46,530.69 

Cost  per  1OOO  sq.  yds.  including  the  few  streets  cleaned  by  "block 

work"      .35 

Special   Crews. 

Total   Cost   of   extra    cleaning   of   gutters   and    removal    of   wash- 
downs  and  other  debris  on  streets $22,220.50 

DISTRICT  NO.  2— 

Hand  Labor  Gangs  and  Machines. 

No.  square  yards  swept   (not  including  Special  Crew  work) 30,007,234 

Total  cost  of  sweeping  and  hauling $  12,1  Of).! O 

Cost  per  1OOO  sq.  yds .33 

DISTRICT  NO.  3— 

Hand   Labor  Gangs  and  Machines. 

No.  square  yards  swept   (not  including  Special  Crew  work) 48,188,340 

Total  cost  of  sweeping  and  hauling. $14,038.37 

Cost   per    1OOO   sq.   yds .31 

Special  Crew  Work  in   Districts  Nos.   2  and  3. 
Total   Cost    $   3,204. '24 

Special  Crew  Work. 

Special  Crew  work  was  paid  for  at  the  following  rates: 

For  each    laborer 27c.  per  hour 

For  each  foreman 33c.  per  hour 

For  each  team,  wagon  and  driver OOc.  per  hour 

Fach   Special   Crew  consists  of  three  laborers,   one  team,   wagon     and  driver. 

Sprinkling. 
Street  sprinkling  with  fresh  water  was  paid  for  at  the  rate  of  25c.  to  20  ^e. 

per  1OOO  lineal  ft.,  the  cost  varying  for  the  several  districts;  and  53c. 

per  10OO  lineal  ft.  being  paid  for  sprinkling  macadamized   blocks  on 

Van   Ness  Avenue.      Total  cost  $15,722.03. 

TOTALS 
The  totals  of  each  kind  of  work  were  as  follows: 

Block     Work — Sweeping     05,042,257    sq.    yds.  $   53,730.44 

All     Other     Sweeping 217,83O,5O2    sq.    yds.  73,578.1(5 

Special     Crews     27,081.15 

Total     282,472,750    sq.    yds.  $154,5)05.75 

Sweepings  hauled  by  Market   St.  Ky.   Co.  to  Golden   Gate 

Park     47,250  cu.  yds. 

Total     Sprinkling 58,720,557  In.  ft. 

Total  loads  of  sweepings  hauled  to  dump 20,555 

8 


THE  STREET  CLEANING  PROBLEM 
IN  SAN  FRANCISCO. 


FOREWORD: 

Inauguration  of  modern  street-cleaning  methods  in  American 
Municipalities  is  of  comparatively  recent  date,  and  had  its  beginning 
when  the  late  Col.  (ieo.  'Waring,  Jr..  started  a  system  in  Xew  York 
that  made  it  the  model  city  of  the  United  States,  and  as  clean  as  any 
city  of  Europe.  This  was  in  1895.  His  methods  are  still  in  force  in 
that  city,  \vith  some  later  day  improvements,  and  to-day  Xew  ^  ork 
is  still  one  of  the  cleanest  cities  in  this  country. 

ORIGIN  AND  CHARACTER  OF  DIRT: 

Sources  of  street  dirt  in  a  city  are  many,  but  principal  amongst 
them  are  horse  droppings;  the  wearing"  and  tearing  action  caused  by 
vehicular  traffic  ;  sanding  of  street  car  tracks ;  snow  and  ice  ;  leaves 
and  weeds :  and  the  contributions  of  a  careless  public  in  the  form, 
of  store  sweepings,  waste  paper,  newspapers,  theatre  programs,  fruit 
peelings  and  the  like,  which  totals  an  enormous  amount.  Dust  and 
dirt  arising  from  building  operations  are  often  to  be  added  to  the 
above. 

The  l/nited  States  Department  of  Agriculture  tested  the  compo- 
sition of  street  sweepings  of  the  cities  of  Xew  York.  \Yashington, 
Merlin  and  London.  The  percentage  of  moisture  was  found  to  varv 
from  35  to  39  per  cent;  of  organic  matter,  20  to  36  per  cent;  and  of 
ash,  29  to  43  per  cent.  The  above  proportions  varied  according  to  the 
season  and  type  of  pavement  from  which  samples  were  taken.  The 
weight  varied  between  800  and  1400  Ibs.  per  cu.  yd.  for  a  like  reason. 
The  sweepings  tested  contained  two  elements  of  value,  namely,  paper 
and  manure,  but  the  cost  of  separation  was  held  to  be  prohibitive. 
Sweepings  have  little  value  as  fertilizer  as  a  very  large  proportion  of 
the  material  is  inert.  It  has  been  proposed  to  add  stable  manure  or 
concentrated  fertilizers  to  sweepings  so  as  to  make  them  saleable, 
but  this  is  impracticable  since  sweepings  are  never  uniform  in  com- 
position, which  uniformity  is  an  essential  requisite  of  a  good  com- 
mercial fertilizer. 

9 


WHAT  IS  PREVENTABLE. 

Much  of  the  above  dirt  is  unavoidable,  but 
of  the  public  are  inexcusable  and  are  due  solely  t« 
or  lack  of  civic  pride  of  the  individual.  Traction 
off-set  the  harm  done  by  excessive  sanding  by  clcanim 
points  where  such  sand  is  used.  Dust  and  dirt  from  building  opera- 
tions is  largely  preventable  as  every  large  building  has  a  ba>ement 
in  which  all  sand,  gravel,  rock,  lime  and  cement  could  be  stored  and 
mixed,  which  is  actually  done  in  a  few  instances,  with  a  resultant 
(iecrease  of  the  dust  nuisance. 

These  abuses  do  not  exist  in  European  cities,  and  there  are  local 
laws  covering  these  points,  but  these  laws  are  seldom  enforced. 

HARM  DONE: 

It  is  this  street  dirt  and  dust  that  does  great  harm,  when  dr\ 
and  pulverized,  it  is  blown  about  bv  the  winds  to  lodge  in  the  eye> 
ears  and  nose  of  the  people,  causing  much  of  the  catarrhal  and  lung 
troubles  so  prevalent  in  this  country,  or  as  mud  is  tracked  into  dwell- 
ings and  places  of  business  to  do  similar  harm.  The  evil  is  even 
greater  where  produce  and  food  stuffs  are  exposed  in  the  various 
markets.  Moreover,  dust  does  an  enormous  amount  of  damage  to 
valuable  stocks  of  goods  in  retail  stores.  Neither  coarse  dirt  that  is 
not  blown  around  freely  nor  moist  droppings  do  any  material  harm. 

RESPONSIBILITY  OF  PUBLIC: 

The  private  individual  too  often  fails  to  appreciate  his  direct  per- 
sonal responsibility  for  an  interest  in  having  clean  streets,  and  it  i> 
no  uncommon  thing  to  see  people  throw  away  a  newspaper  or  theatre 
program,  though  there  are  always  cans  in  which  to  place  such  waste. 
Such  actions  are  a  violation  of  the  law  in  almost  every  American  city 
yet  arrests  for  this  cause  are  almost  unheard  of,  nor  do  the  police 
even  take  the  trouble  to  warn  offenders.  This  failure  to  enforce  such 
commandable  laws  results  in  adding  a  great  deal  to  the  work  of  the 
street  cleaning  departments,  and  a  city  that  might  be  cle 
is  allowed  to  go  dirt}'.  A  street  may  be  actual! v  dirtv 
Jrec  of  paper  and  litter  it  will  look  at  least  fairly  clean. 

THE  PROBLEM: 

The  problem  is  to  remove  this  dirt  from  the  streets  and  cart  it: 
away  to  some  distant  point  where  it  will  not  be  a  nuisance.  A  thror- 

10 


"Uglily  cleaned  street  will  he  free  of  tine  impalpable  du.-t  as  well  as 
the  coarser  and  more  readilv  seen  forms  of  dirt.  The  state  of  repair  oi 
the  several  kinds  of  pavements  i.--  a  factor  that  has  much  to  do  with 
the  cost  and  efficiency  of  cleaning,  the  cost  being  about  20  per  cent 
jreater  lor  a  pavement  in  tairly  good  order  onl\'.  and  40  per  cent 
greater  for  a  pavement  in  poor  order.  The  type  of  pavement  is  also  a 
actor  in  the  cost  for  it  has  been  found  that  if  the  volume  of  sweepings 
collected  from  sheet  asphalt  be  100.  then  the  volume  collected  from 
basalt  block  grouted  with  tar  will  be  150.  and  from  block  with  sand 
tiller  about  500.  There  have  been  developed  several  methods  of 
'•leaning-  suitable  to  meet  these  varying  conditions,  the  cost  differing 
widely  for  reasons  as  noted,  and  becau>e  of  variations  in  cost  of  labor. 

METHODS— HAND  PATROL: 

The  simplest  and  generally  cheapest  wav  to  clean  streets  is  bv 
hand  patrol.  Men  with  brooms  sweep  the  dirt  into  piles  from  which 
il  i^  promptlv  shoveled  into  wagons  and  carted  to  the  dumps. 
\Yherc  traffic  is  heavy  and  it  is  desired  to  keep  the  street  free  of  dirt 
all  the  time,  sweepings  are  collected  in  hand-cans  and  then  placed 
in  curb-cans  to  be  collected  later  by  wagons. 

I  land  sweeping  is  generally  carried  on  continuously  wherever  the 
traffic  is  heavv,  particularly  in  the  important  .shopping  districts  and 
busines>  centei>.  It  i>  then  called  the  "block  svstem."  Residence 
districts  arc1  hand-swept  a>  often  as  experience  shows  this  U>  be  nec- 
essary. 

luisalt  or  other  block  pavements  should  be  swept  from  the  center 
oi  the  street  towards  the  curb  as  this  is  along  the  line  of  continuous 
joints  and  results  in  more  efficient  cleaning. 

The  cost  of  block  work  can  be  cheapened  by  •  the  use  of  small 
trucks  for  carrying  curb  cans,  and  t< »  be  wheeled  about  bv  the  sweeper. 

ll\  this  means  a  >weeper  will  not  find  it  necessarv  to  spend  a 
considerable  portion  of  his  time  walking  to  and  1mm  the  curl)  cans 
in  order  to  empty  his  hand  can.  When  the  can  on  the  truck  is  tilled 
t  is  placed  on  the  curb  and  replaced  bv  another  can. 

SWEEPING  MACHINES— BROOM: 

A  second  method  of  cleaning  is  by  the  use  of  sweeping  machines, 
the  commonest  tvpe  of  which  has  a  rattan  broom.  This  machine  will 
clean  a  strip  about  5  to  (>  feet  in  width,  brushing  all  dirt  to  one  side. 
and  by  this  means  sweeping  the  dirt  to  the  gutters,  where  it  is  piled 

II 


by  men  with  brooms  and  then  carried  away.  It  is  necessary  t<> 
sprinkle  a  street  before  machining  or  the  dust  raised  will  be  very 
objectionable.  On  the  other  hand  it"  the  street  is  made  too  wet.  a 
machine  will  merelv  smear  mud  over  the  paving  and  not  clean  effi- 
ciently. Generally  speaking-  a  machine  will  not  clean  as  thoroughly 
as  a  hand  patrol,  but  may  be  cheaper  where  labor  is  high. 

Machine  sweeping  is  suitable  for  commission  and  wholesale  cen- 
ters where  traffic  is  heavy,  but  where  very  thorough  cleaning  is  not 
required.  However,  the  produce  centers  should  be  kept  perfectly 
clean  in  order  to  protect  food  stuffs  from  street  dust. 

"PICK-UP"  MACHINES: 

There  are  several  machines  on  the  market  that  sweep  and  at  tin- 
same  time  pick  up  the  dirt.  A  machine  such  as  this  will  work  lairly 
well  on  a  perfectly  smooth  pavement  such  as  sheet  asphalt  in  perfect 
order,  but  these  ideal  conditions  are  not  to  be  found  in  practice,  and 
authorities  agree,  that  no  machine  of  this  type  works  satisfactorily 
for  this  reason.  The  hrst  cost  is  high,  which  is  a  factor  which  must, 
be  considered  as  well. 

KINDLING  MACHINE: 

The  Kindling  machine  has  a  broom  shod  with  rubber  instead  of 
rattan,  and  a  small  water  tank  for  sprinkling  in  front  of  the  broom. 
These  machines  are  suitable  for  sweeping  sheet  asphalt  in  perfect 
order,  but  fail  to  clean  even  the  slightest  depressions.  Kurther.  the 
same  area  has  to  be  re-swept  while  the  street  is  still  wet  because  the. 
soft  rubber  broom  fails  to  make  a  clean  sweep  the  first  time  before 
the  street  dirt  has  had  an  opportunity  to  be  softened  by  the  \\ater. 
L  nlcss  this  is  done  a  sprinkler  must  be  sent  ahead  of  this  machine. 
otherwise  it  will  fail  to  do  the  work. 

REMARKS: 

Hand  and  machine  sweeping  fail  to 
impalpable  dust  is  still  left  behind,  and 
objectionable. 

FLUSHING: 

This  failure  to  obtain  perfect  results  has  led  to  the  development 
of  flushing  by  fire  hose  or  rlushers,  as' experience  has  shown  that  this 
is  the  only  method  by  which  fine  dust  can  be  removed.  Onlv  -heet 


asphalt  or  block  pavements  laid  in  tar  or  cement  sprout  can  be  flushed 
without  injurv.  It  is  not  advisable  to  flush  block  pavements  laid  with 
>and  filler  as  there  is  danger  of  washing  out  the  filler.  Flushing  is 
done  during  the  night  so  as  not  to  interfere  with  traffic. 

HOSE: 

*  ienerally  fire  hose  and  nozzles  and  full  hydrant  pressure  are  used 
but  this  results  in  using-  about  1.88  gals,  of  water  per  square  yard 
flushed,  which  use  is  excessive.  This  manner  of  flushing  can  be 
cheapened  by  using  a  2-inch  hose,  which  is  lighter  and  more  readily 
handled,  and  a  special  nozzle  that  will  throw  a  flat  spray,  and  by 
throttling. down  the  pressure  at  the  hydrant  to  about  30  Ibs.  per  sq. 
inch.  Apparatus  such  as  this  will  require  about  1.44  gals,  per  square 
yard  flushed. 

FLUSHERS: 

Flushing  is  also  done  bv  sprinkling  wagons  of  special  design 
and  having'  an  air-tight  tank.  Water  is  admitted  to  the  tank  at  full 
hvdrant  pressure,  which  pressure  is  maintained  by  an  air  cushion. 
A  special  valve  is  attached  for  flushing  and  water  is  applied  to  the 
pavement  from  a  round  nozzle.  Flushers  require  about  2  gals,  per 
square  van!  flushed,  which  is  an  excessive  amount. 

Flushing"  bv  hose  costs  about  as  much  as  hand  or  machine  sweep- 
ing', when  the  dirt  is  allowed  to  go  into  the  sewers,  but  where  care 
is  taken' to  collect  the  dirt  the  cost  will  be  about  double.  Flushing 
by  flusher  wagons  is  still  more  expensive. 

Flushing"  is  objected  to  on  the  ground  that  it  washes  dirt  into  the 
sewers  and  causes  deposits  therein,  but  grounds  for  this  objection  are 
more  imaginary  than  real.  All  heavy  dirt  has  been  swept  off  during 
the  da}'  and  that  which  is  left  is  fine  and  not  liable  to  deposit  in  a 
sewer  that  has  a  proper  grade.  Cloth  tappoons  can  be  used  to  inter- 
cept dirt  at  the  manholes  and  thus  obviate  this  possible  clanger.  In 
1'aris  street  dirt  has  been  flushed  into  the  sewers  for  years  without 
any  harmful  effect,  but  in  this  particular  case  street  flushing"  is  done 
simultaneously  over  a  very(  large  street  area  with  the  result  that  the 
sewers  are  given  a  good  flushing  at  the  same  time.  This  should  still 
be  the  case  where  street  flushing  is  done  on  a  more  limited  scale,  and 
certainly  no  more  dirt  gets  into  a  sewer  through  flushing  than  what 
would  be  swept  in  by  a  heavy  rain. 

13 


DISPOSAL: 

Street  sweepings,  it  has  been  .shown,  have  little  or  no  value  a> 
a  fertilizer  and  the  general  practice  has  been  to  find  some  free,  dumping 
ground  in  which  to  dispose  of  them.  In  some  instances  it  is  necessary 
to  haul  by  train  to  some  distant  point,  or  to  dump  at  sea  from  barges 
as  is  done  at  Xe\v  York.  The  latter  two  methods  add  greatly  to  the 
cost  of  cleaning  but  they  have  the  advantage  of  removing  absolutely 
all  sweepings  from  within  city  limits;  yet  debris  dumped  at  sea  will 
frequently  cause  a  nuisance  to  some  sea-coast  community.  Dumping 
within  city  limits  or  within  populous  areas  is  very  objectionable.  A 
dump  is  always  unsightly  and  frequently  the  cause  of  a  serious  dust 
nuisance.  Kurther,  organic  matter  that  is  covered  up  thus  decays  an<' 
is  destroved  but  slowly,  and  is  likely  to  cause  a  nuisance  later  if  ex- 
cavated. 

STREET  SPRINKLING: 

Streets  are  sprinkled  with  water  in  cities  or  communities  of  any 
considerable  si/.e  in  order  to  lay  dust  which  becomes  more  or  less  oi 
a  nuisance  during  the  dry  season.  This  process  is  sometimes  varied 
for  macadam  roads  which  are  then  treated  with  asphalt-base  oils 
kerosene,  oil  emulsions,  tars,  salt  water,  deliquescent  salts  and  the  liku 
cic.  All  of  these  bind  the  wearing  surface  and  lay  the  dust  in  a  far 
more  permanent  manner  than  water  alone  will  do.  I  kit  of  these  onh 
salt  water  and  deliquescent  salts  are  suitable  for  use  on  any  shed 
paving,  basalt  block  or  similar  pavement  as  the  other  processes  make 
a  pavement  too  slippery  for  use.  Sprinkling  with  salt  water  is  about 
twice  as  efficient  as  fresh  water  as  it  takes  a  much  longer  time  to 
evaporate,  and  deliquescent  salts  are  far  more  efficient  than  salt  water 
This  is  an  important  consideration,  because  it  means  that  the  intervals 
between  the  excessive  wetness  and  dryness  are  much  prolonged  and 
that  all  dust  nuisance  is  abated  for  the  entire  day.  Deliquescent  salt- 
have  also  a  double  value  due  to  the  fact  that  thev  lav  the  dust  effect - 
ivelv  and  at  the  same  time  do  not  interfere  with  an  immediate  use  of 
a  street  as  is  the  case  with  the  use  of  oils  and  tars.  Xeither  is  theu 
anv  liability  of  damage  to  clothing  or  paint  on  vehicles.  It  is  well 
to  add  here  that  sprinkling  is  not  a  remedy  for  dirt}-  pavements  in 
any  sense  of  the  word  as  it  simply  makes  mud  and  slime  out  of  dust 
and  a  street  remains  as  dirty  as  before.  Theoretically  it  is  not  neces- 
sary to  sprinkle  a  well  cleaned  pavement  as  all  dust  and  dirt  are  sup- 
posed to  have  been  removed,  but  as  a  rule  the  average  street-cleaning 
department  merely  strives  to  remove  the  coarse  forms  of  dirt  and 
leaves  the  fine  dust  to  be  blown  about  and  sprinkling  is  therefore  re- 
quired. 

14 


STREET  CLEANING  IN  SAN  FRANCISCO. 


BOARD  OF  WORKS: 

The  Hoard  of  Works  has  entire  control  and 'direction  <>i 
(•leaning  in  San  Francisco,  and  does  the  work  out  of  funds  pi 
annually  by  the  Board  of  Supervisors. 

BUREAU  OF  STREETS: 

'I  he  Iliia rd  created  a  Uurcau  of  Streeets  with  its  own  Superin- 
tendent, in  i(A>3.  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  the  present  Charter  and 
I  )epartments  of  Street  Cleaning,  Street  Repairing  and  Sewer  Cleaning 
as  sub-departments.  This  supervision  of  authority  has  not  worked 
well  and  today  the  Street  Cleaning  Department,  for  instance,  reports 
direct  to  the  Board.  The  above  Bureau  and  its  departments  should 
be  abolished  and  their  respective  Superintendents  made  deputies  to 
ihe  llurcau  of  Engineering,  which  itself  is  subordinate  to  the  Board  of 
Works.  P>y  this  manner,  the  several  Superintendents  will  have  the 
advantage  of  competent  technical  advice,  and  authority  and .  responsi- 
bility will  be  concentrated.  The  personnel  of  the  several  Department 
heads  need  not  be  affected  on  making  this  change. 

ft  might  be  advisable  to  retain  an  official  who  would  attend  to 
street  matters  that  are  purely  administrative  and  who  would  report 
to  the  Board  of  Works  direct,  but  the  other  changes  should  be  made 
as  the  present  organization  has  proved  itself  inefficient. 

STAFF  OF  STREET  CLEANING  DEPARTMENT: 

The  Street   (.leaning  Department  maintained  approximately  the 

following  staff  for  the  last  fiscal  year. 

1  Superintendent  at  $2.400  per  year. 

7   District  Foremen  at  $120  per  mo.,  one  for  each  of  4  districts. 

2  blockmen  foremen,  and   i  night  foreman. 
5    Dump  foremen  at  £3.50  per  da}'. 

2  lUmkermen  at  Santa   Fe  bunkers  at  Sioo  per  month, 
i    Watchman  at  $90  per  month. 


2O  Foremen  sweepers  at  $3.50  per  day. 
125   Sweepers  at  $3.00  per  day. 

24  2.5  cti.  yd.   wagons,  team  and  driver,  hired  at  $0.50  per  day. 
30  2.5  cu.  yd.  wagons,  owned  by  city,  team  and  driver  hired  at 

$6.00  per  day. 
4  Teams  for  3  sweepers  and  I  sprinkler,  hired  at  $6.00  per  day. 

with  driver. 
15  Teams  for  sprinklers,  hired  at  $6.00  per  day,  with  driver  for 

average  of  200  days  per  year. 

7  liuggies  for  foremen  at  $45.00  per  month  from  a  separate  iuml. 
With  this  force  there  is  required  about  $10,000  for  materials  and 
supplies ;  $2,000  for  repairs  to  wagons  and  sprinklers  ;  $4,000  for  dump- 
ing charges  for  16,000  loads  delivered  at  Santa  Fe  Bunkers  and  $6,000. 
for  S.  V.  water.  The  expense  of  keeping  the  above  force  in  the  field 
continuously  would  amount  to  a  greater  sum  than  that  allowed  for 
this  work  last  year,  namely,  $250,000,  so  it  is  obvious  that  the  whole 
force  was  not  at  work  continuously  throughout  the  year. 

RATE  OF  WAGES: 

The  first  thing  noticable  in  the  above  schedule  is  the  abnormally 
high  wage  rate  paid  for  labor.  The  general  rate  paid  in  Eastern  cities 
for  similar  work  is  $1.50  per  eight  hour  day,  and  in  New  York  the 
rate  is  $2.19,  and  is  there  considered  extremely  high.  These  rates  are- 
but  50  per  cent  and  73  per  cent  of  the  local  rate,  and  the  excessive 
local  rate  demands  serious  consideration  when  it  is  realized  that  labor 
comprises  approximately  66  2-3  per  cent  of  the  total  cost  of  cleaning. 
There  is  now,  and  will  be  for  a  long  time  to  come,  an  abundant  supply 
of  labor  available  at  2oc.  per  hour;  and  if  street  sweepers  were  given 
a  reduced  but  liberal  wage  of  $2.25  per  day.  sufficient  saving  would 
be  made  to  make  it  possible  to  put  on  about  30  to  40  more  sweepers 
and  8  to  10  more  wagons,  and  thus  give  the  Superintendent  extra  men 
and  wagons,  that  he  claims  necessary  to  keep  the  city  well  cleaned. 

LOCAL  CONDITIONS: 

San  Francisco  has  a  street  cleaning  problem  that  is  made  particu- 
larly difficult  because  of  local  climatological  conditions. 

DRY  SEASON: 

Seven  months  of  the  twelve  are  practically  rainless,  during  which 
time  the  dust  nuisance  is  made  still  greater  by  the  prevalence  of  the 
summer  trade  winds  which  often  blow  with  great  force.  These  winds 

16 


practically  sweep  bare  the  streets  in  some  sections  of  the  ciiy.  but 
dirt  swept  from  one  point  is  piled  up  in  another.  There  are  certain 
parts  of  the  city,  notably  about  Fillmore,  ^"ebster  and  thereabouts, 
and  Polk  and  Larkin  and  thereabouts,  and  Market  below  Kearney, 
where  street  dirt  and  papers  pile  up  in  the  lee  of  buildings,  and  make 
these  localities  difficult  to  keep  clean. 

AMOUNT  OF  PAVED  STREETS  CLEANED: 

There  are  within  the  city  limits  1095.75  Blocks  paved  with  basalt 
block;  1404.5  blocks  paved  with  bitumen;  205.5  Blocks  paved  with 
cobbles;  one  block  each  of  planking,  brick  and  Nicholson  pavement; 
14. 5  blocks  paved  with  asphaltum,  and  12  blocks  of  macadam; 
2735.25  blocks  in  all.  Unimproved  streets  and  macadam  are  not 
cleaned,  so  this  leaves  2722.25  blocks,  or  about  208  miles  of  city 
streets  to  be  cleaned. 

HOW  CLEANED: 

Of  this  area  of  pavements,  there  are  about  122,000.000  sq.  yds. 
cleaned  by  the  block  system  193,000.000  sq.  yds  cleaned  by  hand  and 
48,500,000  sq.  yds  cleaned  by  broom  machines,  or  33.6  per  cent.;  53.1 
per  cent,  and  13.3  per  cent  respectively  of  the  total.  There  is  also 
about  T. 000,000  sq.  yds.  of  flushing  done  on  certain  parts  of  the  block 
system  area.  Street  sprinkling  is  carried  on  for  about  200  days  in  the 
year  and  to  the  extent  of  about  125,000,000  Ifneal  feet. 

The  last  annual  budget  apportioned  $250,000  for  all  the  expenses 
of  the  department,  so  it  is  seen  from  the  above  that  the  extent  and 
cost  of  the  work  is  considerable,  the  latter  being  approximately  2.5 
per  cent  of  the  total  budget. 

STREETS  IN  BAD  ORDER: 

( )f  the  man}-  miles  of  paved  streets  there  is  a  large  percentage 
that  is  in  very  bad  order,  and  a  still  larger  proportion  that  is  in  but  fail- 
condition.  The  cost  of  street  cleaning  is  probably  increased  by  some 
15  per  cent,  over  what  it  would  be  if  all  pavements  were  in  good  repair 
(  )i  the  sum  expended  on  street  cleaning  for  the  past  year,  probably 
837,500  represents  what  might  be  considered  as  work  wasted  because 
<  >f  poor  pavements. 


TOPOGRAPHY: 

Munv  parts  pf  the  city  arc  very  hilly  and  this  has  a  tendency  to 
concentrate  street  traffic  along  certain  lines.  This  concentration  is 
beneficial  as  it  tends  to  facilitate  and  thereby  cheapen  the  work.  l.)n 
the  other  hand,  the  hilly  sections  sometimes  tend  to  increase  the  length 
of  the  haul  to  the  dumps,  and  this  results  in  an  increase  in  expense. 

DISPOSAL  OF  SWEEPINGS: 

f  the   free  dumping  -round,-   listed 
,000  loads  .annually  at  the  bunkers 
in  the  Santa  Fc  yard  at  China Basin  at  a  cost  of  250  per  load  : 

[.     Santa  Fe  Bunkers  charges  250.  per  load,  I2^c.  per  cu.  yd. 

2.  ijth  and  Carolina — will  last  6  months. — important   location. 

3.  I'olrero  and  25th  St.,  large  space  left. 

4.  8th  Ave.  and  "I," — will  last  two  months. — important: 

5.  13th  Ave.  and  Point  Lobos — large  space  left. 

6.  Bay  and  Webster  Sis.. — will  last  one  year. 

7.  Bay  and  Powell  Sts. 

Dumps  2  and  4  are  of  considerable  importance  but  will  not  las: 
long.  This  means  that  new  ground  localities  must  be  secured,  but 
such  new  sites  will  be  further  out  and  necessitate  a  longer  haul  with 
resulting  increase  in  cost. 

DUMPING  AT  SEA. 

Conditions  become  worse  each  vear  and  steps  must  be  taken  to 
get  a  permanent  solution  of  this  matter.  Dumping  at  sea  by  barges 
is  not:  advisable  because  the  lighter  sweepings  will  be  swept  onto  the 
shore  at  points  where  they  will  create  a  nuisance.  Moreover,  the  long 
haul,  to  the  water  front  will  not  reduce  the  cost  of  this  item. 

BUNKERS: 

The  real  solution  of  the  difficulty  will  be  to  provide  bunkers  at 
about  four  centrally  located  sites  that  will  give  as  nearly  as  possible 
the  shortest  haul  in  each  district.  These  bunkers  must  be  served  with 
trackage  by  the  local  steam  or  street  railways  SO  that  the  sweepings 
can  be  taken  away  by  car.  This  means  a  more  or  less  long  haul  b\ 
train  at  a  cost  approximating  \o  to  ^oc  per  cu.  yd.  At  present  bunkers 
are  needed  at  some  point  along  the  northern  water  front,  say  under  the 

18 


lee  of  1  elcgrah  hill,  and  in  the  western  addition  somewhere  between 
Devi>ider<>  and  ist  Are.  Lrce  dumps  wherever  available,  and  the 
Santa  l-e  bnnkers  at  China  Basin.  \vill  do  fairly  well  for  the  balance  ot 
the  cit\'  l'ir  the  time  being. 

There  are  about  IJO.OQO  cu.  yds.  of  street  sweepings  collected 
annually.  Each  wagon  averages  4  loads  per  day  which  makes  the  cost 
of  disposal  about  <><j.5c  per  cu.  yd.,  but  if  the  haul  were  so  shortened 
as  tii  make  it  possible  lor  a  wagon  to  make  5  loads  per  day,  the  cost. 
!>er  cu.  yd.  would  then  be  55. 5c.  a  saving  of  ]_).c.  which  would  about  pa\ 
I''!'  the  train  haul  if  bunkers  were  established.  The  citv  would  also 
receive  the  benefits,  due  to  the  fact  that  it  would  be  freed  of  just  so 
many  unsightly  and  unsanitary  (lumps,  and  to  the  fact  that  these  ob- 
jectionable wastes  were  disposed  oi  at  s<>me  distant  |)omt. 

DISTRICTS: 

hit  >r<1er  t"  >  facilitate  the  work  <  if  cleaning,  the  city  has  been  divided 
into  four  districts  bounded  as  follows  : 

1.  South  of  and  not  including  Channel.  Division  and  Eleventh, 
from  the    Bay  to  Market:   south   along  but  not  including  Market  to 
llaighi  :  smith  of  but  not  including  Ilaight,  and  including  Stanyan  to 
Frederick,  and   south  of  and    including    Frederick   and    "LI"  to  the 
'•  '  unity  line. 

2.  \\'est  of  and  not  including  Larkin  ;  west  of  and  not  including 
Market  from  Larkin  to  Haight;  and  north  of  and  including'  Haight. 

3.  Last    of   and    including   Larkin;   north   of   and   not   including 
Market  from  Larkin  to  East — East  St.  omitted. 

4.  .North  of  and  including'  Eleventh,  Channel  and   Division   from 
.Market  to  the  Bav  :  east  of  and  not  including  Market  from  Eleventh  to 
Last  St..  I'.ast  St.  omitted. 

Central — All  of  Market  and  triangle  included  between  i'owell. 
Market  and  Slitter  to  Market — done  by  block  system. 

Produce  District — .Area  included  between  Market.  Sansome  and 
Pacific  and  East— done  by  broom  machines  and  gang'  at  night. 

Siime  of  the  Central  and  Produce  districts  are  included  in  Xo.  3 
above,  and  the  distinction  is  based  on  manner  of  cleaning  and  not  on 
locality. 

SCHEDULE  MAINTAINED  BY  DEPARTMENT: 

With  equipment  as  t  outlined  ab<  >\  e  and  c<  >nditi<  >ns  t<  >  meet  as  n<  >ted, 
the  bureau  maintains  a  schedule  approximately  as  shown  on  Map  Xo  I 


hereto  attached.  The  changes  made  lately  have  been  in  the  nature  of 
a  shifting  of  the  work,  much  of  the  force  being  taken  off  Van  Xess  and 
transferred  to  the  restored  retail  district. 

SCHEDULE  TOO   AMBITIOUS: 

A  glance  at  the  map  will  show  that  the  schedule  is  altogether 
too  ambitious,  as  the  attempt  is  made  to  cover  approximately  two- 
thirds  of  the  city  weekly,  and  the  balance  more  frequently  as  shown 
It  is  unnecessary  to  sweep  a  residence  district  weekly  as  a  rule,  be- 
cause once  in  two  weeks  or  once  a  month  will  generally  suffice. 
However,  there  should  be  a  special  crew  and  paper  gang  fur  each  dis- 
trict whose  duty  would  be  to  sweep  gutters  where  dirt  and  papers 
pile  up  to  a  marked  extent.  This  means  that  all  streets  would  get 
at  least  one  to  two  sweepings  per  month,  and  those  places  that  re- 
quire it  would  get  swept  weekly  and  that  all  litter  would  be  picked 
up  by  a  paper  gang. 

The  result  would  be  uniformly  cleaned  districts,  and  not  clean 
here  and  dirty  there,  as  it  is  now  throughout  most  of  the  city. 

SPRINKLING  SCHEDULE: 

The  sprinkling  schedule  is  likewise  too  ambitious,  and  reference 
to  Map  Xo.  2  will  show  that  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  area  cov- 
ered is  sprinkled  but  twice  daily.  This  is  well  nigh  useless  in  this 
dry  and  windy  climate  as  fresh  water  dries  out  in  less  than  an  hour 
and  dust  is  blowing  shortly  thereafter. 

SCHEDULE  SHOULD  BE  CHANGED: 

The  work  should  be  concentrated  and  not  less  than  three  sprink- 
lings a  day  be  given  to  an}'  one  street.  This  would  mean  the  with- 
drawal of  the  carts  from  the  less  important  parts  of  the  citv,  prefer- 
ably irom  the  outer  portions  south  of  Market,  and  a  heavv  kick 
would  be  expected  from  the  property  owners  affected. 

THE    CHLORIDE    PROCESS: 

The  best  solution  of  the  matter  would  be  a  general  use  of  the 
chloride  process  but  lately  applied  to  the  retail  district  where  its 
efficiency  was  well  demonstrated  on  both  asphalt  and  block  paving. 


It  is  merely  a  solution  of  a  deliquescent  salt  applied  just  as  ordinary 
water,  the  salt  retaining  its  moisture  so  that  the  paving  remains 
moist  for  the  day.  (ienerally  it  is  necessary  to  sprinkle  with  a 
little  water  once  a  dav  to  offset  evaporation,  and  successive  applica- 
tions of  the  chemical  are  made  weekly  or  thereabouts.  The  best  re- 
sults were  obtained  on  basalt  paving-  which  can  be  made  well- 
nigh  dustless.  the  filler  between  the  blocks  acting  as  a  wick 
and  supplying  sufficient  moisture  to  offset  evaporation,  and  verv 
good  results  were  obtained  on  asphalt.  A  second  result  obtained 
which  is  of  no  inconsiderable  value,  is  that  a  street  is  not  alter- 
nately wet  and  dry  several  times  during  the  day.  but  uniformly 
moist,  which  means  that  the  dust  is  effectively  laid  and  that  there 
will  not  be  frequent  tracking1  of  mud  into  stores  and  offices.  Effi- 
ciency of  chloride  sprinkling  has  been  fully  demonstrated,  and  natur- 
al!} the  cost  is  greater  than  that  of  water  as  the  two  are  not  to  be 
compared. 

CRITICISM: 

If  one  will  but  make  a  critical  examination  of  East  Street,  which 
the  Harbor  Commission  has  cleaned  by  contract,  one  will  wonder 
why  the  City's  streets  compare  so  unfavorably.  This  difference  is 
due  mainly  to  the  fact  that  East  Street  is  done  by  contract  under 
efficient  supervision!,  the  contractor  employing  a  very  capable  super- 
intendent. Also  East  Street  is  sprinkled  with  the  salt  water  and 
dust  is  very  effectively  laid  thereby.  On  the  other  hand,  the  City's 
work  is  done  by  an  inefficient  department,  that  has  attempted  to 
carry  out  a  too  ambitious  schedule. 

DISCIPLINE  AND  UNIFORMS: 

There  is  also  an  entire  lack  of  discipline  among  the  men.  nor  are 
the  men  alert  or  diligent  about  their  work.  Efficient  disciplining  of 
the  force  is  made  difficult  by  reason  of  the  Civil  Service  rules  which 
are  such  as  to  make  it  extremely  difficult  to  discharge  any  but  the 
most  grosslv  incompetent  men.  The  Federal  Civil  Service  rules  are 
better  in  that  they  make  it  possible  to  readily  discharge,  for  proper 
cause,  an  incompetent  employee.  Further,  the  men  are  not  uniformed, 
Avhich  is  a  mistake.  Without  uniforms,  the  men  are  not  conspicuous, 
and  the  public  does  not  get  a  correct  idea  as  to  the  amount  of  work 
being  done  and  a  lazy  man  will  take  the  opportunity  to  loaf:  nor  do 


teamsters  see  them  and  the  men  are  compelled  to  spend  a  good  part 
on  their  time  looking  out  for  their  personal  safety,  which  would  not 
be  so  much  the  case  if  uniformed. 

MARKET  STREET: 

Market  Street,  to  be  sure,  is  fairly  well  cleaned  by  the  block  men 
whose  work  is  supplemented  bv  flushing  carts.  More  flushing  could 
be  done  and  by  hose,  as  it  would  be  cheaper,  and  the  same  amount 
of  water  and  money  would  go  a  longer  way. 

PRODUCE  DISTRICT: 

The  .Produce  District  bounded  by  Sansome.  Pacific.  East  and 
Market  is  cleansed  by  broom  machines  followed  by  hand  gangs,  and 
is  then  sprinkled  twice  daily.  It  is  far  from  clean  though  it  is  sup- 
posed to  be  gone  over  four  times  per  week,  as  there  is  too  much  dirt 
in  between  the  block  paying  and  other  evidences  of  lack  of  thorough 
cleaning. 

MONTGOMERY  AVENUE: 

'1  he  same  can  be  said  of  Montgomery  Avenue  which  is  gone 
over  three  times  weekly  and  sprinkled  twice  daily. 

KEARNY  STREET: 

There  are  two  blocks  on  Kearnv  east  of  Broadway  that  have 
been  allowed  to  get  so  dirty  that  the}-  require  the  attention  of  the 
Board  of  Health. 

DUPONT: 

Dupont  Street  in  China  Town  is  also  very  dirtv,  though  it  is  a 
very  important  shopping  center.  Many  people  patronize  the  large 
shops  there,  and  almost  every  tourist  visits  the  quarter.  This  alone 
should  be  sufficient  reason  for  keeping  this  part  of  the  town  well 
cleaned. 

SOUTH  OF  MARKET: 

Xo  substantial  change  need  be  made  from  the  present  schedule 
for  South  oi  Market,  but  Third  should  be  given  a  dailv  cleaning,  and 
Mission  the  same  bv  machine  as  far  out  as  Sixth,  and  three  weekly 


nut  to  Fourteenth.  As  a  whole  this  section  is  fairly  well  handled,  but 
it  is  very  dusty  on  a  windy  day  as  the  sprinkling  that  most  of  it  gets 
but  twice  daily  is  ineffective.  The  use  or  chloride  preparation  through- 
nut  would  solve  the  dust  evil. 

KENTUCKY: 

Kentucky  Street  does  not  get  enough  cleaning  and  should  be 
uoue  over  once  a  week  instead  of  twice  per  month.  Chloride  prepara- 
tion should  be  used  here  as  well. 

THE  MISSION: 

That  part  of  the  Mission  west  of  < iuerrero  appears  very  clean  and 
neat.  It  is  put  down  for  a  weekly  cleaning,  with  one  or  two  streets 
excep1ed  that  get  more,  and  could  be  kept  equally  clean  by  sweeping 
once  a  month  with  a  special  crew  to  look  after  those  places  where 
most  dirt  accumulates.  But  the  same  cannot  be  said  of  that  part  of 
Mission  east  of  (iuerrero.  Valencia  and  Mission  are  blocked  from 
Twentieth  to  Twenty-Fourth  and  twice  weekly  north  and  south  of 
these  points,  but  this  latter  is  entirely  insufficient  as  these  two  im- 
portant streets  are  very  dirty,  excepting  the  four  blocks  noted.  The 
balance  of  Valencia  should  be  swept  once  daily  where  not  blocked,  and 
the  same  on  Mission  from  Army  to  Fourteenth.  East  of  Mission  the 
section  is  quite  dirty,  though  most  of  the  cross  streets  get  swept 
twice  weekly  and  the  remainder  once  weekly.  The  amount  of  work 
done  on  the  w-est  side  should  be  lessened  and  the  men  transferred  to 
the  east  side,  and  then  this  part  of  town  wrould  be  presentable.  Mis- 
sion and  Valencia  and  a  few  of  the  important  side  streets  are  sprinkled 
twice  daily,  but  it  is  not  efficient  and  the  chloride  preparation  could 
Ite  used  to  advantage. 

NOB  HILL: 

The  Xob  Hill  section  is  given  a  sweeping  monthly  and  appears 
to  be  fairly  clean. 

VAN  NESS: 

Van  Xess  Avenue  was  blocked  after  the  fire,  but  since  the  retail 
-lores  have  moved  down  town,  it  has  been  sufficient  to  go  over  it 
once  daily,  and  this  schedule  can  be  cut  down  from  time  to  time. 


WESTERN  ADDITION: 

Almost  the  entire  \Yestern  Addition  is  swept  once  a  week,  a 
schedule  that  is  almost  impossible  to  keep  up  and  at  the  same  time 
do  justice  to  the  work.  Certain  streets,  as  Golden  Gate  to  Steiner: 
Fillmore  from  Fulton  to  Broadway:  Devisadero  from  Haight  to  Sac- 
ramento: and  certain  parts  of  Haight.  Hayes,  Eddy,  Ellis,  1'ost  and 
Slitter  are  blocked,  and  certain  parts  of  (  )ak,  Fell.  Raker.  Fulton.  .Mc- 
Allister, Steiner  and  streets  crossing  Fillmore  are  given  sweepings 
twice  a  week.  The  streets  that  are  blocked  or  given  a  bi-weekly 
cleaning  should  be  kept  on  the  same  schedule,  but  almost  all  north 
of  and  including  Clay,  a  few  streets  excepted,  should  be  swept  but 
once  a  month  and  served  with  a  special  crew,  and  the  same  holds 
good  for  the  hilly  section  east  of  Alamo  Square,  and  the  area  adjacent 
to  the  Park.  That  area  defined  approximately  as  lying  between  Devi- 
sadero and  Van  Xess  and  Hayes  and  Sacramento  should  be  covered 
one,  two  and  three  times  per  week  as  shown  on  map  Xo.  4.  At  the 
same  time  there  should  be  one  or  two  special  crews  working  on  the 
different  places,  and  a  paper  crew  as  well.  As  it  is  now.  the  whole 
Fillmore  section  is  dirty  and  very  untidy.  Papers  and  all  sorts  of 
litter  blow  around,  pile  up  in  many  places  along  Larkin.  Laguna.  Web- 
ster. Steiner  and  thereabouts.  One  paper  crew  in  here  would  do  much 
to  improve  this  section,  but  no  such  crew  is  provided  at  present.  The 
schedule  for  the  entire  section  must  be  changed  and  work  lightened 
in  one  part  and  concentrated  in  the  other,  and  then  this  section  can 
be  made  presentable,  otherwise  it  will  never  be  so.  It  is  so  bad  now 
that  the  Fillmore  Street  Improvement  Association  has  to  put  three 
men  on  the  street  on  Sundays  to  sweep  and  pick  up  papers.  The 
changes  recommended  would  add  little  if  any,  to  the  present  cost  of 
sweeping  this  area  as  they  require  a  concentration  of  work  rather 
than  additional  work.  The  area  in  and  about  Fillmore  and  Van  Ness 
is  sprinkled  twice  daily  without  good  effect,  and  the  chloride  prepara- 
tion should  be  used. 

SUNSET  AND  RICHMOND: 

The  Sunset  and  Richmond  Districts  comprise  but  a  small  area  of 
improved  ground,  but  are  growing  rapidly.  A  weekly  s.weeping  is 
allotted  to  these  sections  though  a  monthly  schedule  with  a  special 
crew  would  do  the  work. 

24 


REMARKS: 

I'Vom  the  above  it  will  be  seen  that  the  street  cleaning  depart- 
ment attempts  to  do  too  much  by  trying  to  cover  so  much  of  the  city 
on  a  weekly  schedule  whereas  a  monthly  or  bi-monthly  schedule  would 
do.  Special  gans  and  paper  crews  should  be  employed  to  clean  up 
those-  certain  places  where  street  dirt  and  papers  make  those  localities 
so  often  dirty.  The  too  ambitious  sprinkling  schedule  should  be  modi- 
fied as  well,  and  the  work  concentrated,  and  the  use  of  the  chloride 
preparation  extended  as  far  as  the  cost  will  permit. 

SCHEDULE  PROPOSED: 

A  proposed  revision  of  the  schedule  is  given  on  Map  Xo.  4.  It  is 
in  >t  considered  as  final  but  is  believed  to  be  one  that  will  give  far 
inure  uniform  results  than  are  obtained  at  present,  as  lack  of  uniform- 
ity of  results  is  one  of  the  weak  points  of  the  present  scheme. 

REORGANIZATION  OF  DEPARTMENT: 

This  Department  should  be  put  directly  under  the  City  Engineer 
and  thus  be  given  all  the  advantage  to  come  from  expert  advice  and 
direction.  It  is  perfectly  true  that  this  is  not  the  common  practice  in 
most  cities  of  the  country,  but  the  reply  to  this  is  that  other  cities  are 
no  more  successful  than  this  in  handling  this  same  matter. 

REDUCTION   OF  WAGES: 

There  is  no  good  reason  why  the  present  wage  rate  should  be 
maintained  when  other  cities  get  the  same  work  done  for  but  50  per 
cent,  to  73  per  cent,  of  what  it  costs  here.  Xo  laborer  can  earn  $3.00 
in  eight  hours  cleaning  streets,  nor  could  a  very  alert  man  earn  so 
much  as  $2.50.  and  $2.25,  as  proposed,  would  be  a  most  liberal  wage. 
A  reduction  in  pay  would  be  followed  by  considerable  opposition,  but 
the  saving  effected  is  well  worth  while,  as  has  been  previously  shown. 
It  cannot  be  argued  that  a  reduction  in  wages  will  curtail  the  purchas- 
ing power  of  the  force  as  a  whole  or  lessen  the  circulation  of  money,  be- 
cause it  is  proposed  to  spend  about  the  same  amount  of  monev  annu- 
ally. This  will  result  in  a  more  even  and  equitable  distribution  of  a 
given  sum.  and  give  the  city  greater  returns  for  the  money  spent.  Xor. 
does  the  cost  of  living  justify  any  such  wage  scale,  and  the  present 


rate  wa>  made  to  meet  certain  special  conditions  that  no  longer  exisl 
t/ondiiions  no\v  are  fairly  normal  and  wages  are  lar  more  normal  than 
for  main  years  past,  so  there  is  no  good  reason  why  the  city  shoulc1, 
continue  to  pav  an  exorbitant  wage. 

SUPERINTENDENT'S  REPORTS: 

The  Snperinten<lent  of  the  Street  Cleaning  Department  make.-. 
weekly  and  monthly  reports  to  the  Works  Board  that  are  published  in 
the  ''Municipal  Record."  Until  recently  these  reports  were  of  no 
value  as  thev  gave  nothing  by  which  the  cost  of  the  work  could  be 
deduced,  but  recently  the  form  of  report  was  modified  so  as  to  make 
it  possible  to  make  a  general  average  of  the  cost  of  sprinkling,  team- 
ing and  machine  work.  The  reports  are  still  very  unsatisfactory  as 
they  make  no  distinction  between  block  work  and  ordinary  hand  work, 
except  in  area  swept,  and  the  work  is  reported  for  the  whole  city  and 
not  bv  districts.  Such  cost  data  as  given  at  present  show  unit  costs 
of  some  of  the  work  that  are  very  low  and  lead  to  the  presumption 
that  the  reports  are  more  or  less  incomplete  a-~  to  all  items. 

PROPOSED  FORM  OF  REPORTS:     (See  Page  2) 

Following  is  given,  a  proposed  form  ot  report  giving  averages  of 
unit  costs  for  block  work,  hand  labor,  machine  work,  hauling,  flush- 
ing and  sprinkling.  These  reports  are  to  be  made  out  daily,  weekly 
and  monthly,  the  latter  including  all  charges  for  superintendence,  office 
expenses,  repairs  and  maintenance,  inspection,  water,  etc..  interest  and 
charges  lor  deterioration  exccpted. 

PRESENT  COST  OF  STREET  CLEANING: 

There  i-  not  sufficient  data  given  in  the  reports  of  the  Superin- 
tendent from  which  accurate  statements  of  cost  of  cleaning  by  the 
several  methods  can  be  made,  but  the  following  are  offered  as  being 
rough  approximations. 

HAND  WORK: 

Sweeping  once  over  by  hand,  80.40  per  i  .000  ><|.  yds. 
15 y  block  system,  continuous  $1.20  per  j .000  sq.  yds. 

26 


MACHINE  SWEEPING: 

Sweeping  by  machine  and  gang  pliers.  $0.30  per  i.ixio  sq.  yds. 
FLUSHING: 

!•  lusher  and  gang,  Si.oo  per   i.oou  sq.  yds. 

SPRINKLING: 

Sprinkling  bv  wagon  or  tlusher.  So.  MI  |ier   i.ooo  lin.  ft. 

COST  OF  HAULING: 

ading  and  hauling  t<>  dumps.  So. 78  per  cu.  vd. 
e  costs  do  not   include  office  expenses,  and  Superintend- 
eman  f*  >r  hand  labor  gangs,  inspectors,  "water  and  rent, 
hut  include  an  allowance  for  interest  and  depreciation.     From  this  it 
is  seen  thai  machine  sweeping  is  cheapest,  with  hand  work  costing  about 
S,vS  per  cent,  more  and  Hushing  costing  about  three  times  as  much. 
(  lost  of  sprinkling  by  water  is  given  in  units  of  length,  but  where  the 
•hloride  process  is  used  to  its  fullest  extent  on  street  paving,  the 
max   be  about  twice  that  of  water  alone,  area  per  acre. 

That  part  of  the  retail  district  bounded  by  Mason.  Sutler  and 
Market,  but  not  including  .Market,  was  sprinkled  with  chloride  prepara- 
tion during  April,  May  and  June  and  with  excellent  results,  though 
there  was  then  a  great  amount  of  building  material  and  dust  there- 
from on  (Jean-.  Post.  Sutter  and  O'Farrell  streets.  This  was  done  by 
contract  by  the  U.  S.  Dustless  Roads  Co..  at  a  cost  of  $1100  per  month 
which  is  about  double  that  of  sprinkling  by  water  alone,  but  the  dust 
was  effectively  laid,  and  the  protection  afforded  to  valuable  retail 
stocks  was  worth  the  added  cost. 


337165 


SUMMARY   AND    RECOMMENDATIONS. 


There  are  several  reasons  why  this  city  pays  a  large  sum  annually 
for  street  cleaning  and  gets  but  an  insufficient  return  for  its  money 
These  are  enumerated  below,  and  suggestions  for  needed  improve- 
ments are  given  : 

First:  The  Street  Cleaning  Department  is  managed  as  a  depart- 
ment under  the  control  of  the  Board  of  Works,  with  its  own  Superin- 
tendent, whereas  it  should  be  a  part  of  the  Department  of  Engineering 
and  thereby  receive  the  benefit  of  the  advice  and  direction  of  the  City 
Engineer.  It  would  still  be  under  the  Board  of  Works. 

Second:.  Steps  should  be  taken  to  increase  the  efficiency  of  tin 
force  by  giving  the  Superintendent  authority  to  readily  discharge  an 
employee  for  cause,  the  vacant  place  to  be  filled  by  the  next  available 
applicant  on  the  Civil  Service  list.  Such  a  step  as  this  would  not  be 
radical  and  closely  follows  the  Federal  Civil  Service  rule.  Also,  the 
force  should  be  uniformed  for  the  sake  of  protecting  the  men  and  allow- 
ing them  greater  safety  while  at  work:  and  also  for  the  benefit  of  the 
public  who  would  then  have  some  idea  as  to  the  extent  of  the  work 
and  how  it  is  performed.  Men  in  uniform  would  not  be  inclined  to 
loaf.  It  is  almost  a  universal  practice  to  have  street  sweepers  uni- 
formed, and  it  should  be  done  here. 

Third:.  There  should  be  a  reduction  in  wages  from  $3.00  to  $2.25 
This  reduced  rate  practically  gives  a  bonus  of  80.50,  as  common  labor 
now  commands  but  $0.20  per  hour.  The  present  scale  of  wages  was 
created  to  meet  special  conditions  that  no  longer  exist,  and  wages  and 
cost  of  living  are  now  more  nearly  normal  than  for  many  years  past. 

Fourth:  There  should  be  a  very  considerable  revision  of  the 
cleaning  and  sprinkling  schedule  as  the  present  schedule  is  altogether 
too  ambitious  and  not  possible  of  proper  execution  with  such  appro- 
priations as  are  available  at  date.  Particular  attention  is  drawn  to  a 
lack  of  uniformity  in  results  obtained  in  parts  of  the  Western  . \dditioti 
and  the  Mission.  The  Superintendent  does  not  provide  special  crews 
whose  work  is  to  clean  gutters  and  streets  at  points  that  become  dirty 

28 


more  than  at  others,  nor  are  there  any  paper  gangs  to  pick  up  paper 
and  other  forms  of  litter  that  are  so  unsightly.  A  judicial  use  of  such 
gangs  and  crews  will  make  a  good  showing  and  tidy  up  the  city  to  an 
astonishing  degree. 

The  sprinkling  schedule  is  generally  impracticable  as  a  very  large 
percentage  of  the  total  area  sprinkled  is  gone  over  but  twice  daily,  and 
this  is  effective  on  but  a  very  few  blocks.  It  is  claimed  that  there  is  not 
money  available  for  a  thorough  use  of  the  chloride  preparation  over 
the  entire  area  sprinkled,  but  it  should  be  resumed  in  the  retail  district 
and  extended  to  the  produce  district,  and  part  of  South  of  Market  and 
to  the  remaining  areas  sprinkled  so  far  as  possible. 

Fifth :  Daily,  weekly  and  monthly  reports  should  be  made  on  a 
form  outlined  above,  so  that  the  Superintendent  can  keep  close 
watch  on  the  cost  of  the  several  kinds  of  work,  and  so  that  the  public 
might  be  likewise  informed.  Reports  as  made  at  present  are  practi- 
cally valueless. 

If  the  -above  proposed  changes  can  be  made,  there  will  be  a 
marked  and  immediate  improvement  in  the  work  done  by  the  De- 
partment of  Street  Cleaning,  and  without  increased  cost  to  the  City. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

H.  A.  CAMPBELL, 
Engineer.  The  Merchants'  Association. 


"^/mAINfl-MV** 


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